Jackson beefs up nuisance policy in attempt to fight growing violence in city neighborhoods

The city of Jackson revised its nuisance ordinance violation in response to the growing violence in neighborhoods. Christopher Taylor was found dead in this house in the 1100 block of First Street. His body was found after midnight Sunday morning. Investigators believe Taylor was shot inside the house. Police were called to the house at 12:15 a.m. (J. Scott Park | Mlive.com)

While the ordinance won’t stop criminal action, it does give the city a tool to recoup lost funds spent to investigate and remedy situations.

The revised ordinance specifically lists the unlawful discharge of a firearm as a nuisance, according to Jackson Deputy City Attorney Bethany Smith, who wrote the ordinance revisions.

“A few months ago there was a situation where someone was firing a gun two or three times in a residential neighborhood,” she said referring to First Street.

City Council members unanimously approved the ordinance revision at the Nov. 13 meeting.

Smith said if there was a nuisance abatement action filed against a property owner and the city prevailed, the city could obtain a court order that would force the property owner to pay the city for costs associated with the violation.

The fines are no longer specific to a certain city department either. A property owner in violation of the ordinance could be ordered to pay for the number of times the police have been called to a specific location, for housing inspections and even the cost to board up or clean a property.

“It is enabling the city to aggregate conditions from different departments for properties under different circumstances,” Smith said.

In July, residents in the neighborhood near where the Sunday shooting took place expressed concerns about the growing violence. On July 8, around 30 young people were involved in a fight where baseball bats and cinder blocks were used as weapons.

Councilman Derek Dobies has been at the forefront of the ordinance revision. He has made it a priority to work to revise the city’s nuisance ordinance and the abatement process.

Dobies was not available for comment Monday but did comment under the Citizen Patriot’s news story of the fatal Sunday shooting.

“With some violent crimes, no amount of patrol or neighborhood involvement will be completely preventative. Afterwards, I was happy to call for, and pass, an ordinance that strengthens our nuisance abatement process to allow the city to better deal with situations like we had on Harwood Street,” Dobies wrote.

Jackson City Mayor Martin Griffin said the police have been called to one property on 120 different occasions since the beginning of the year.

“And the year isn’t over yet,” he said without giving the location of the home.